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.......Original URL: http://www.jsonline.com/bym/news/aug05/350166.asp
Northwest business travelers see delays
Airline says problems may not be strike-related
By TOM DAYKIN
[email protected]
Posted: Aug. 22, 2005
On the first day of business travel since the mechanics' union struck Northwest Airlines, most of the airline's departures from Mitchell International Airport were on time, although the number of delays increased.
By early afternoon, two scheduled departures were showing delays past 15 minutes. Both were flights to Minneapolis, where Northwest maintains its largest operation. Each flight was running with a delay of around 30 minutes.
Arrivals at Mitchell also were affected. By mid-afternoon, three Northwest arrival delays-of around 30 to 45 minutes each- were showing on the airport's flight boards.
Business travelers who arrived 45 minutes late from Detroit, where Northwest operates a hub, seemed to take the delay in stride.
Northwest has refused to release statistics on delays or cancellations since the strike began Saturday.
"You just have to make the best of the situation," said Trish Portuese, of Birmingham, Ala. Portuese and co-worker Fran Dufour both said such delays are routine for regular business travelers - even without a strike.
There were other delayed arrivals Monday, but those were on Northwest Airlink, a regional service operated in Milwaukee by Pinnacle Airlines Inc., an independently owned company that contracts with Northwest Airlines.
Pinnacle's mechanics are non-union, and the airline is not directly affected by the strike. According to Northwest's schedule, Northwest Airlink accounts for 17 daily departures from Mitchell, while Northwest Airlines offers 18 daily departures.
The combined Northwest/Northwest Airlink operations make up the second-largest carrier at Mitchell. Northwest has 168 employees at Mitchell, including 43 workers who are on strike.
An independent travel expert found widespread delays in the strike's first two days.
Joe Brancatelli, who publishes the business travel Web site www.joesentme.com, sampled 99 of Northwest's 1,381 Sunday flights and found that 53.5% them left on time, according to Northwest's Web site, he said Monday. Using that method on Saturday, Brancatelli found that only 46.5% of the sampled Northwest flights were on time. The airline has about 1,470 weekday flights.
Company spokesman Kurt Ebenhoch derided Brancatelli's numbers but refused to say how many flights had been delayed or canceled. During August 2004, 17.6% of Northwest flights were late and 1% were canceled, according to the Transportation Department.
"The survey was unscientific and completely random and included markets that could have been affected by weather or air traffic, which impact the operations of all airlines, not just Northwest," Ebenhoch said.
Some 4,400 union members walked out Saturday morning after negotiations failed to achieve a compromise on jobs and wage cuts sought by the airline.
Northwest has replaced the union workers with mechanics laid off from other airlines, and it is unclear whether the strikers will lose their jobs permanently. The airline says it hopes to return to the negotiating table.
A Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman said the agency has been monitoring the carrier's transition to replacement mechanics since Northwest began training for them. The spokeswoman said many of the replacement workers brought in are certified mechanics.
"We're confident the aircraft aren't leaving the hangar until they are fixed and checked," said FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown.
No new talks are scheduled between Northwest and the union, which is refusing to take pay cuts and layoffs that would have reduced its ranks by nearly half.
The mechanics averaged about $70,000 a year in pay, and cleaners and custodians made around $40,000. The company wants to cut their wages by about 25%.
The Associated Press, Washington Post and Bloomberg News contributed to this report.
FN FAL said:Northwest has refused to release statistics on delays or cancellations since the strike began Saturday.
I see the sheriff's department is escorting the NWA vans in and out of the airport. Must suck to have to give up that coffee break and donut stop to have to guard a bunch of scabs.scabseeker said:Gee I wonder why? What a bunch of losers. Why doesn't Mgmt. man up and give us some stats? I know because they are not good. I saw a lot of delays on Sat. and Sun. flying through DTW and MEM.
http://www.startribune.com/stories/1519/5573532.htmlBusiness as usual
Management claims operations are normal; the union claims there are hundreds of delays.
Ladies and gentlemen, the union and management at Northwest Airlines finally agreed on something.
A.P., Waconia.